Rotten Town
by lokie'slovergirl
Summary: Finding herself trapped within the city due to Merle leaving her behind, Rose is forced to find her own way out or die trying to escape from the Walkers.
1. Chapter 1

"I'll come back for you, I promise." The words hardly left Rose feeling the least bit safe as she looked over the man who was speaking to her. Her eyes taking in the leather vest, the ripped shirt beneath that, and the bleeding stump of an arm he had. She knew she could trust the Dixon Brothers, she had been around them since she had been nearly ten years old, being neighbors did that, but at the same time in this world she had learned you couldn't trust people that easily, even Merle, she knew his track recorded of how he had spent most of his years in jail. Mustering up whatever spirit she had left in her broken soul, she just nodded her head to Merle, just wishing that he would have allowed her to come with her, but she had already felt his answer when she had suggested that she and he just go, her jaw was still sore from his blow. Watching as he broken the window in the run down kitchen, and how he slipped through the broken window, she was only left to stand there. Her bloody pcp pipe hanging limply in her bloody hands.

She had been the one who found him after all, up on that rooftop and freed him from those handcuffs, and now she was trapped in a empty kitchen.

"You better come back." Rose spoke only to the air around herself, as she moved towards one of the zombies she had managed to beat down when she had first entered into the kitchen, nudging it with her boot once, she turned away growling under her breath as she moved towards the dry storage of the kitchen, hoping to refill her bag with food she could carry. Finding nothing but a few expired cans of black beans and corn, she grabbed them up and walked towards the stove that Merle had used to seal off his arm to stop the bleeding. Pulling out the hunting knife she had on her hip, she popped a small hole in the top of the can and set it onto the still burning stove, and settled down, the pipe resting in the nock of her arm as she leaned her head against the oven, hoping that Merle would keep to his word and return for her. She doubted it, he had never liked her in the first place anyways, but that wasn't shocking seeing as how she dressed and acted, to him she was nothing more than white trash who had left her home as soon as she could.

Reaching up a shaking hand she wiped at her nose, trying to stop it from running as she let out a snuffling, ashamed of herself at how she was crying, what a baby she was. Laughing at the thought, she kept wiping at the tears as they came, trying her best to keep them from showing…But showing to who, she didn't know the dead geeks no more than twenty feet from herself?


	2. Chapter 2

Having fallen asleep sometime during the night, Rose jerked awake at the sound of moaning and groaning, and the shuffling of shoes against the floor. Holding her breath, she didn't dare move as she glanced around herself, her breathing coming back as she slowly got up, her body shaking from cold and maybe a bit of fear as she listened to the sounds of what sounded like a herd of zombies moving past the kitchen door.

"Please…Merle…" Finding that her answers wouldn't be answered by the man who left her to die alone, she moved towards the window, the broken pieces of glass cutting into her legs as she shimmed out of the window and onto the fire escape, her body crashing onto the metal rather loudly. Standing quickly, she leaned over the railing, watching as a few geeks stumbled around below her. Promising herself that she wouldn't die in such a place, she reached up a hand, running it through her purple hair and set off down the fire escape, trying to be as silent as she could. Dropping the last few feet to the ground, she landed with a huff as she twirled the pipe in her hand before setting off at a slow but steady jog, doing her best to remember the layout of the city.

Soon finding that she was lost, she turned a tight corner and nearly landed on her ass at the sight of the walkers shuffling around near a tank. Feeling her eyes going wide she turned away just as a few of the started to shuffle towards her. Putting a new burse of speed into her legs, she ran forwards, turning when she could and hitting and killing a few zombies if they neared too close to her.

"DARYL! HELP!" With the scream echoing around the streets, Rose slowed to a jog, her head tilted to the side, trying her best to figure out where the scream for help was coming from, finding that it wasn't that far from herself, or so she prayed she started forwards once more, her lungs burning as she darted into an ally way, unable to do much but watched a young man was pulled into a car as another person was being kicked on the ground, standing there in shock, she was jostled forwards by two males running to help the person on the ground. Moving forwards, she gripped the pipe tighter, unsure of what to do, she had meant many others out here, and they were the worst, this world had turned most people into nothing more than animals, killing others to keep themselves alive.

"They took Glen!" The man who had been getting beaten on the ground shouted as he was able to finally stand up, still screaming in anger as he turned around, which only caught Rose off guard more. With her lips forming Daryl's name silently she rushed forwards, her fear of the others forgotten as she smashed into Daryl's chest, her arms nearly wrapping around his frame, only to be shoved away from him, stumbling downwards, she landed on her ass, and looked up at him, as he pointed his crossbow at her head.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" He snapped at her, reaching up a hand she brushed her purple hair out of her eyes, a smirk on her lips as she looked at her old friend.

"Jeeze, Merle remembered me, but you don't?" She questioned the man before her, causing his bow to weaver for a second before he turned away to lock the gate to keep the zombie at bay.

"You're coming with us." He snapped Rose, gripping her by the upper arm he pulled her to her feet and dragged her along, her feet stumbling as she was forced to keep pace with the taller male at her side, glancing over her shoulder she saw the other two had taken the youth who had been hitting Daryl up as well and was dragging him along as they were with her.

Having walked what felt like thirty miles, Rose and the others finally came to what appeared to be a one story law firm, being shoved inside by Daryl; she let out a huff as she caught herself before falling. Straighten up, she fixed her already torn shirt, as she walked around fairly certain that the place wasn't infected with Walkers.

"Rough as alwa-" Before she had a chance to get out everything she was trying to say to Daryl she was slammed against one of the walls, her sight going in and out for a moment from the unexpected pain she had gotten from him. Groaning as she was slammed into the wall once more, she grabbed at his arms trying to break his grip on her shirt, and failed.

"WHERE IS HE?!" The words came flying from the younger of the Dixon brother, as well as a bit of spittle hitting her in the face. Before she had any time to reply to his question, she watched as he was pulled off and shoved away from her. Falling a bit away from the wall, she rubbed at the back of her neck; it was stinging from the amount of force that Daryl had put behind in nearly killing her. Watching as the man called Rick pointed a finger at Daryl and demanded that he calm down or else. Standing there, she glanced towards the Mexican youth, a smirk on her lips as she was about to say something about Daryl freaking out, however Daryl was back at her, still screaming about where his brother was, holding up her hands she stepped back a frown on her lips.

"How the hell should I know where that fucker is?" She questioned Daryl, getting back in his face as she shoved him in the chest, soon enough the two of them were being pulled apart by Rick and T-dog. "He left me in that fucking kitchen, Daryl!" She screamed as she lunged towards him only to be held back by Rick from ripping into Daryl once more. While being held back, she let out a laugh as she fought off Rick's hold on her boney body.

"He wouldn't leave you, Merle is a bastard, but he wouldn't leave you." Daryl snapped, which only caused the already pissed off Rose to let out yet another laugh as she looked around herself, her hands resting on her hips now as she looked towards Rick and the others as she leaned against the wall, looking over Daryl's body.

"That's right, he wouldn't leave me…Huh? But he left you as child for your old man to throw around." She snarled at him, which only caused Daryl's face to pale as if he was seeing a ghost for the first time, shoving her hands back in her jean's she looked over the others who were staring at her, some of these mouths slightly agape, but it was Rick who spoke first to Rose.

"You know, Daryl?" He questioned her, what a stupid question, she knew him, and how else would she know those things about him and his father. Nodding her head, she looked away from the others not liking it when people stared at her. Fidgeting in her spot, she did her best to avoid seeming nervous and failed when Daryl stepped towards her making her flinch slightly.

"How do you know that?" He questioned her, his voice low and rather scary as he looked at her, his finger pointing in her face as he spoke to her.

"You would think you would remember me." Rose stated to him, her tongue ring flashing in the dim lighting of the office building as she smirked at him before speaking once more. "I was your first fuck, 'member?" She questioned him, as she pointed her finger back at him. "Went to the same school, Merle beat the both of us…" Trailing off she let out a small sight, looking away from Daryl, figuring that she was lost in his memories forever, which wouldn't surprise her all that much. She had left soon after she had fucked Daryl, her mother didn't like the idea of her having slept with one of the Dixon brothers, the family that was shunned by the whole neighborhood.

"Rose?" The word fell from Daryl's mouth like a heavy rock, grabbing her arm she was pulled away by Daryl to the next room, leaving Rick and T-Dog to figure out where the Mexican gang had taken the man called Glen to.

"Don't look so shocked, I've changed, but not that much." She told him, laughing at the thought of her younger self, wearing Daisy Dukes and crop tops, and now she was what one could call 'punk goth.'

"Man, I haven't seen you…In…Well forever." He said, a small and rare smile going across his face before it was gone again as if he just now remembered about Merle being gone. "Do you have any clue where he could have gone?" He questioned Rose, once more back on the subject of his brother.

"Listen, the ass left me for dead, after I saved him from the rooftop, alight, I couldn't care about what happens to him."


	3. Chapter 3

(Sorry if this was a bit rushed towards the end, or mucked up, I had a hard time with my Muses in this chapter. Also, please comment your thoughts on how this is written and how it can be improved!)

"Rose." Daryl's voice came out more like a plea, nothing that Rose had ever heard in her life before, a Dixon pleading with someone, asking for help. Well, wasn't that funny? Twice in a week now she had heard a Dixon asking for help. First with Merle, asking a cold and uncaring God to get him out of his problem, and now this, Daryl; the one who hated everything simply because he took after his older brother, asking her, a woman for help. If she didn't know that the world had already gone to shit, Rose would have thought that this was the start of the end, Daryl and Merle asking someone for help.

"Don't you, dare." Rose hissed to him, her face twisting in a silent rage as she spun back to face him, having nearly made it back to the other room. "Don't you, dare ask me to help you." She growled, her finger pointing right into the man's face as she neared him, her step deadly as she came close to him, close as she had been with him in a long time.

"You, and Merle, you both got yourself into this, and I'm sure Merle is gonna get whatever he gots coming to him, and don't pretend like you aint a bit happy 'bout it neither." With those echoing words, Rose spun around hating herself for having said such venom filled words to Daryl but also for sounding like the two Dixon boy's, uneducated and street smart, she had gotten the hell out of their town long ago, and that little accent only came back when she was upset a great deal, and well, Daryl knew just how to make her upset by just saying her name, damn him for that. Composing herself the best she could, she moved back into the other room, her feet heavy on the ground, the only part showing that she was still shaken by the unspoken words between herself and Daryl. Rubbing at her nose for a moment, she sat down on an empty des and watched as the others went to work on the boy, asking, well truly more like demanding he tell them were his friends had taken Glen. Finding that it was taken the three males too long for them to break the gang member's silence Rose stood to her feet and walked towards the door, drawing stares from the others in the room.

"Now, hold on a minute ma'am." Sighing Rose dropped her hand from the door knob and turned to face the cop standing back by the others.

"She ain't no ma'am, hell she ain't even human, she's like you all, leaving my brother to die." Shooting a glare at Daryl, she was beaten to the words for him to shut up by Rick. Shifting her eyes away from Daryl, ashamed of herself for not wanting to go out and save Merle, she leaned against the battered wooden door, waiting to see what the man had to say to her about leaving the office building.

"Where do you plan on going? If you haven't noticed the city is crawling with those…Those Walkers." Rose simply nodded her head to Rick's words, wasn't he someone who stated the truth when it was right in your face already.

"And my hair is purple," Rose stated to Rick, earning a small grin from Daryl that she just managed to catch as she looked around the room. "Look, I know where that gang holes up in, I've been watching them for a bit." Shoving off from the door she turned around, ready to open it again only to be grabbed by the shoulder, someone clearly didn't want her to leave, and they where going to be in a bit of pain if they didn't let go soon either.

"I suggest you don't touch her." The slow drawl came from Daryl as he came towards her side, as if he now cared about her wellbeing, wasn't' he one to give someone a whiplash from how he jumped from one emotion to the next. He had always been like that, even more so when Merle would be about, Daryl was the nicer of the brothers, but when he got next to Merle he was as mean as a rattlesnake, maybe a bit more.

"Rose, if you know where the place is, you gotta take us, at least me." Daryl told her once rick released her shoulder.

"I don't gotta take you nowhere Daryl Dixon." Getting into his face once more, she stood nose to nose with Daryl, her head tilted up to look into his eyes, and that stupid smirk lingering on his lips at her show of anger. "I don't owe you nothin', and even if I did, I wouldn't repay it by taking you to Merle, he ain't no good for you." Nearly as soon as those words left her mouth, Daryl was grabbing for her once more, she knew it wasn't smart to insult the man's kin, but sometimes she just couldn't keep her mouth shut when it was for the best.

"Don't you insult Merle, he's my kin and the only kin I have." Ignoring Daryl's shouting, Rose turned to look towards Rick who seemed to be at a lost with how to handle the duo, noticing how his hand rested on the hilt of his pistol, she held up her hands once showing she wasn't going to do anything more to piss off Daryl, at least she wasn't going to do it on purpose.

"I'll take you to their base, but only if you give me food and a gun." Making the offer quick, she watched as Rick's jaw moved as he thought over her offer, it wasn't asking that much, well it was now days, but a gun was easy to get wasn't it? She saw the bag on the table, she wasn't blind she knew what was in it.

"Fine, but you'll get both at the end." Holding back a retort that would have lost her the whole deal, she just nodded her head before opening the door and walking outside, not really all that scared of the walkers that shuffled past in a daze like state as she started to walk towards the outside part of the town.

"How do you about this place?" Looking over her shoulder to Rick, she simply shrugged her shoulders, she wasn't going to give away all of her secrets, after all everyone had them. Hers, just a bit more important than others at time. In truth, she had found this place by tracking the members of the group that would come and go from within the city, they didn't know how to stay quiet and more times than not, they would bring out the Walkers, causing Rose to struggle in finding a good and safe hiding hole for the night.

"Don't really matter does it?" Finding that her answer wasn't going to bring another set of questions, she leaned back against the crumbling brick wall, picking at her fingernails as the group talked over their plan of action. Bringing one of her finger nails to her teeth, she started to trim her nails the best she could with her teeth, a bored look on her face as she looked up as Daryl stepped in front of her.

"Can I help you?" The sarcastic remark only made the redneck before her frown, before he reached down and yanked her to her feet, causing Rose to swear and swing out at him, only to have him block her punch with ease.

"You best learn some manners soon, girl." With a shake of her arm he released her and pointed towards the boy that had pulled along with them. "Rick wants you with us." Well, wasn't that lovely? She was being forced into this trade of people; she just wanted some food and a gun, not to go trading people like a head of cattle. Finding that she was left with only one thing to do if she wanted her prizes, she just nodded her head as he grabbed the youth's tied hands and pulled him forwards, her steps slow and unsure as she walked next to Daryl and Rick, her eyes flashing around herself, not liking how they were all but trapped within the court yard.

"If I get killed, I'm gonna kill you." Hissing to Daryl, she kept herself steady, not liking how still the world seemed to be at that moment. Before Daryl had much of a chance to reply to Rose's snide words, the heavy door of the building slowly opened, revealing a few people standing there. Swearing beneath her breath, Rose kept her feet still. She just wanted to bug out, this couldn't turn out well, she saw into the dark building, she could see just the faintest bit of human like shapes in there, and there was a lot more people than they had. Tightening in her grip on the youth's wrist, she breathed out slowly, her hand sweating as Rick and the man talked, soon enough they were shouting and then they were allowed to enter into the dark room.

"Hey, look." Hearing the gang members talking about themselves, she knew that they were speaking about her, pointing at her and smirking.

_Shit shit shit shit shit. I should have left Merle to die, god damn, if they open fire I'm gonna die or wish I was dead. _With her thoughts running rampant through her mind, she released the boy on the command of Rick, before she let out a scream of rage as she was grabbed by one of the gang members, and yanked towards them.

"DARYL!" The cry for help left her lips before she had a chance to figure out to call for anyone but Daryl. Watching as Daryl lifted his crossbow and pointed it at the man's head who had grabbed her, she let out a shaky cry as she was released and she rushed forwards not finding it in herself to act brave anymore. Shaking like a little leaf, she stayed next to Daryl's side, rather happy when his arm wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her next to him as they made their way through the compound, ignoring the glances from the others around them. Towards the better end of two hours, Rick and the group left with the man that had came to fetch, looking at her feet as she walked with the others, she couldn't help but find herself drawn to the side of Daryl, she knew he had only acted on his gut, he didn't care for her, nor did she care for him, but she knew he would protect her, just because he could.

"Hey!" Calling out to Rick as they walked along beneath the underpass, her stomach growling at her, which had reminded her of Rick's promise of food and a weapon. "Where's my gun? And my food?" Her questions came out sharp and rather angry, which only made Daryl smirk to himself as he turned to face her while walking backwards.

"You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Dixon?" With a frown on her lips, she waited for his answer, which never came when a cry out outrage reached her ears coming from Rick as he questioned the others about the truck that had gone missing from where they left it.

"Who the fuck would steal a truck?" Glen questioned the group and almost at the same time, they all came to the same thought; Merle.


End file.
